Hutzel v. City of Jackson

Summary

The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that the City of Jackson waived the affirmative defenses of release and accord and satisfaction by failing to plead them in its initial answer, actively participating in the litigation, and offering no reasonable explanation for a twenty-six-month delay. The court reversed the trial court's order allowing amendment of the answer and remanded the case for trial on the merits.

Holdings

1. Under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c), a party generally waives an affirmative defense when it fails to plead the defense in its original answer and, absent extreme or unusual circumstances or another reasonable explanation, delays asserting it while actively participating in the litigation. The City waived its release and accord-and-satisfaction defenses because it waited twenty-six months, participated in discovery, and offered no reasonable explanation for the delay.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the City of Jackson to amend its answer to assert release and accord-and-satisfaction defenses after a twenty-six-month delay and active participation in the litigation.
2. Whether summary judgment in favor of the City was proper.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded